Man confronts his high school bully over a message after years and the reply takes him by surprise

Trigger warning: This story contains themes of suicide that some readers may find distressing.

Bullying should never be normalized, no matter where it takes place. A few decades ago, it wasn't even considered a topic to address or discuss and because of the lack of knowledge over bullying, many kids suffered in schools. In a video posted on TikTok by Palmer Michael–who goes by @palmermichael71–he attached screenshots of a conversation he had with his high school bully. While the scars of yesterday can never vanish, he shows that apologies do make them pinch less.

In 2013, Michael decided to text his high school bully, Jeff, after he happened to see the latter's name pop up on a common friend's Facebook page. Seeing the name of his childhood bully brought back many bad memories for Michael. Instead of wallowing in his suffering, he decided to text Jeff on Facebook messager to empty his heart. He introduced himself to Jeff and said, "You bullied me all the way through high school until I had to drop out because you ended up in one of my classes in grade 12."

Michael told Jeff just how miserable he and another classmate named Andrew made his life. He mentioned that he attempted suicide thrice in high school, owing to the bullying he endured in school by Jeff. He explained, "Certain memories stay with you for life and the horrible memories of having you teasing me day after day."

He ended the message by saying he wasn't looking for any apology or pity. While Michael knew that bullying wasn't that big of a deal back then, like it is today, he felt like it was something he needed to tell Jeff. He concluded the note by saying that he genuinely hopes Jeff's kids never ever have to go through what he did.

Surprisingly enough, Jeff replied to that message. He accepted his mistake and shared how sorry he was and that no amount of apology was enough for the damage he caused Michael. He further said that while nothing he did was rooted in malicious intentions, it doesn't matter because what's wrong is wrong. He also mentioned how glad he was that Michael didn't commit suicide and that calling Jeff out would help him lead a better life.

He then also told Michael, "Maybe what's happening to my kids is retribution for how I made you feel," implying that maybe his kids were being bullied at school as well. He also mentioned how he had severe depression and anxiety. However, he was as respectful as he was sorry. In response to Jeff's apology, Michael said it takes a lot of courage to own up to one's mistakes. In the last text of their exchange, Jeff explained how apologizing was the least he could do after bullying Michael all those years. Michael posted this video after Jeff passed away to honor him in some capacity.

The video of their interaction has gained nearly 3M views and 46K likes. Moreover, the conversation between these two former schoolmates shows how much impact it can have to express and acknowledge what's in the heart. @mariiew said, "I had a classmate reach out to me and apologize for everything she did to me. And it meant a lot." @wendycoteanu37 shared her experience and said, "The bully's response is absolutely incredible. I had an apology from a bully from school. I really appreciated it. she apologized many times."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 9, 2023. It has since been updated.